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One for sorrow, two for (ouchies) joy

I love days spent with one of my favourite people. I love the catch ups, the tea drinking, and obviously, being the lucky canvas for some of the most amazing work ever. A trip to the valleys to see my wonderful friend Saira is joy <3 I forgot back in september to post the beautiful adornment she blessed me with under my boobs, so i have popped in a photo of that one too, but this trip was all about my magpies!

When we were working in borneo a few years ago, we were staying with an iban community in the middle of the jungle, and very sadly one of the little boys there, who had been ill for a long time, passed away. There are a lot of beleifs and rituals in Iban communities on the ways to deal with death, but one was that in the 7 days after the death, an animal would make itself known to the tribe, and will be the spirit of the person they lost. If this animal if found outside the longhouse it means the spirit is not happy and must be freed, and the animal is killed and rituals take place, to allow that spirit to pass into another animal. If however that animal appears in the longhouse, it means the spirit is happy and has moved on. Now were were all sat around in the long house eating dinner a few days into this 7 days, and the mothers whose son had died was saying she had dreamt that day of her son, healthy and happy again, playing. Not long after this a magpie robin flew into the long house and stopped and sat next to the mother. It wasnt startled or jumpy, it just sat there looking around. The family became very emotional and carefully scooped up the bird. They fed and watered it, and put it in a small cage to keep it safe untill the morning when they would relese it during a ceremony to celebrate the life and spirit of the young boy. Had i not been sat there, I am not sure I would have beleived the chain of events that played out. How it honestly was as if the little bird sought out its old family and presented itself to them. And wat peace and closure this gave to the family. IT was magical and emotional and an experience I will never forget. And because of this I chose to have my two magpie robins tattooed on my chest. To remind me to beleive. To remind me that things happen for a reason. And to remind me of that moment of peace and happiness during what would normally be such a sad time.

Saira has done the best job i could ask for. She has gifted me with not only a beautiful tattoo but one that means so much and really illustrates the memories of a truly amazing adventure.

Nicola Clarke is a designer maker, creating adornments, for the body, home and weddings, inspired by her love of nature, tattoos and her extensive travels around the world working on community and conservation projects.